With the outbreak of COVID-19 and the declaration of a national emergency, we know that millions of teachers, students, and parents across the nation are struggling to find the best options to ensure that learning is still taking place. Our team has come together to create solutions to assist in the education of our most prized possessions during this extraordinary time.
One of the things we have done is create a free, 45- hour online course called “Educational Technology for Online Learning: Crash Course”. This course is designed to provide participants with a wide variety of online tools, pedagogical strategies, and digital resources to help educators enter the world of online and digital learning. The impetus of the creation of this course was the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in early 2020, causing an unprecedented national emergency. It was at this time that, among other things, the lack of professional development and need for teacher training in the area of online and digital learning became evident. We created this class with the intent to provide educators with a free resource to assist them in acquiring the skills and knowledge necessary to better navigate the waters of online learning in a digital world.
The course is a conglomeration of various parts of the many courses we currently offer. We have taken one module from each of a multitude of our courses and included them in this crash course. Participants will have voice and choice, and will get to choose from a variety of modules they would like to complete, including:
- Google Docs
- Google Classroom
- Screencasting for Distance Learning
- Connected Educators and Social Media
- Game Based Learning with Quizizz
- Virtual Field Trips – Google Arts and Culture
- Genius Hour
- Tour Creator
- Flipping a Lesson
- Engaging Web Tools
- Importance of Women STEM Mentors and Role Model
- Math Open Resources and G Suite Incorporation
- AnswerGarden and Mentimeter
Participants will learn valuable information that will help them collaborate, communicate, and create in an online learning setting. They will also have the amazing opportunity to share their work and communicate in an interactive discussion board with other teachers from across the nation. You can register for that free course here.
Another thing we are doing is curating additional free educational resources for teachers and parents. Many of our instructors have been following and curating lists of education companies that are providing free services and products during this time of need. Thank you to our instructor Joli Boucher @joliboucher for providing these resources! Here is a list of EdTech companies offering FREE support and/or access to schools affected by COVID19 closures. Some of the companies on this list are:
- @brainpop
- @GetKahoot
- @try_pronto
- @BookCreatorApp
- @GoogleForEdu Hangout Meet
- @gotynker
- @Buncee
- @storylineonline
- The Learning Hub on YouTube
- Basecamp PD Online Learning Ideas
Please follow our blog and/or our instructors on social media to get updates on the important and valuable things we are doing to support teachers. If you’d like to know more about what else we are doing in response to the COVID-19 national emergency, visit this page.
